Headteacher's Blog

Monday 26th June 2017

Summer term is running on its usual path through House Celebration Evenings, the Year 11 and Year 13 Balls, Sports Day and on towards Activities Week, the Summer Concerts and the Art Show. All of the above events have been really enjoyable and I know just how much work has gone on behind the scenes to make these the positive showcase for school ethos that they are. The rhythm of the school year and our pupils’ journey through school is punctuated by these occasions and what they all have in common is the celebration of our community in the school. I hope that your children feel that they are integral members of the school and that their contribution is deeply valued.

We have almost finished exams. As I write, our last GCSE paper is in progress and we shall be concluding A Levels later in the week. My heartfelt thanks to all parents who have been doing your bit at home to support our candidates. As a Year 13 and a Year 10 parent myself, I know just how important this role is. Fingers crossed now that we have all done our best!

Our new Deputy Headteacher, Mr McGilloway, will have written to many parents about the clarification of our school uniform policy on girls’ skirts. From September, we will only accept skirts of a design identical to that sold by The Sports Shop and Price and Buckland. I’m sure that the reason for this change needs no further explanation. You would be well advised to consult the visual guide to uniform on our website before you are steered into any purchases by the ‘expert’ in your house!

You may have seen the construction hoardings around the school fence by the St Mary’s Road gate. Work on our new building is pushing ahead. Despite a slight delay while archaeologists reached the conclusion that the Roman pottery and ditch that they uncovered was not of interest, the project remains on timetable. We also have a project afoot in the new Sports Hall where an observation balcony is being built. All of this work is funded externally, the former by North Somerset Council and the latter by a generous benefactor. This is just as well as our finances as a school are incredibly tight and would not run to such developments. I’m always glad to improve our facilities for our pupils and even in this austere year we have taken a big step forward.

On a related topic, we are carrying out a review of fire procedures in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. I am very confident that we have excellent systems in place but it is timely to check.

Lastly, I trust that all pupils will have an enjoyable and enriching Activities Week. Do have a look at photos as they are uploaded on Twitter @Gordanoschooltr.